ryan (MIami, FL.): How did you feel your height either helps or hinders your game?

JOHN ISNER: It does both. Obviously when you're tall on the tennis court, it will give you advantages and disadvantages. For me, it helps because of my serve. But it's a disadvantage, because I'm not as quick as about 95% of the guys out there. But that's something I can work on.

Charlotte, NC: John, I always seem to do poorly in tiebreakers. What are your secrets to winning tiebreakers, if you will share them? --Curt

JOHN ISNER: It's really just a mindset. It's something I take in when I play. My college coach told me not to put too much pressure on myself and to return one of the two serves and win one of the two points. I'll hold serve most of the time. I really try to just get one of the two points.

Andrew (Buenos Aires, Argentina): Are you planning to dedicate yourself full time to tennis now?

JOHN ISNER: Yes. 100%. I made that decision early on in my senior year. I was going to go out and try to play tennis for a living. It's a risky choice, but it's something I wanted to do. I thought I had the game to do well on the pro tour. It's definitely better than a regular job.

Miami, Florida: do you believe that going to college for four years is an advantage then rather turning pro at such an early age?

JOHN ISNER: I definitely do. I've been asked this question a lot. The answer for me, in my case when I was 17-18 coming out of high school. I wasn't mature enough or strong enough to go out on tour. I went to school, competed against some really great players. I gained a lot of confidence because I won a lot. I knew then I was mature to go out there. On top of that, I got a really good education.

Aaron (Virginia): What are your plans moving forward in your tennis career? What upcoming tournaments are you in? Did you qualify for the US Open?

JOHN ISNER: For me, the next three weeks are huge for me. I have really good opportunities to do well. The next tournament is the Masters Series. It's probably the toughest draw. I got a wild card into the main draw there. I may or may not play the Pilot Pen in New Haven, CT. After that, it's the US Open. I think they'll come out with the wild card draw for that today. I have those three events coming up, so hopefully I can do well.

Meredith (Miami,FL): What tennis player (male or female) are you most excited to play and/or meet?

JOHN ISNER: Yes, it's kind of the generic answer you'll get, but if I get the chance to meet/play Roger Federer, that would be a dream come true. He's the most dominant athlete in the world.

JP: Portland, OR: You use a 2-handed backhand. But I notice the players with the best backhands use a 1-handed style. Have you tried 1-handed? Thanks!

JOHN ISNER: No, I've never tried a one hand. Ever since I picked up the racket, it's always been a two handed backhand. For me, it's helped on the return of serve to use the two-hand.

Samantha, New York: John, as a child growing up watching tennis, who were your favorite players? And which players do you admire in today's generation?

JOHN ISNER: Growing up, I always would cheer for Pete and Andre. A lot of people would say that but they were the face of American tennis. They were two of the greatest champions of all time. Now, it's all about Roger Federer. I don't watch a lot of tennis, but if I see him, I'll watch the entire match.

Craig: Pittsburgh Pennsylvania: John, Whats the biggest difference between playing against the best players in college vs playing against the best players on the pro tour?

JOHN ISNER: In college, the top guys hit the ball just as well as the pros. But the biggest thing that sets the pros apart is the mental game. They're so mentally strong. For me, the key that I had to overcome is that I had to mentally believe that I could compete with these guys. I went out there thinking I could win every match I played. A lot of times, guys go out there just happy to be out there.

Tara, Ellicott City, MD: Hey John, congratulations on making the finals last week! I first watched you play the singles and doubles NCAA finals on tv a couple months ago. I'm impressed at how quickly you've come up and I look forward to watching you play at Cinci next week. It's so great to have new life back in American tennis! Andy and James are fun to watch but I'm looking forward to seeing you and and the other young guys like Sam climb your way to the top!

JOHN ISNER: I think the state of American tennis right now is fine. In the 90s, we were spoiled because we had guys like Agassi, Courier, Chang, America was spoiled. Now, we have two guys in the top 10. I think it's strong right now.

Jennifer (Brooklyn Ny): Do you see yourself as a serve and volleyer- I was impressed with your touch at net in dc

JOHN ISNER: Yes, I am a serve and volleyer. When I use a kick serve, 99% of the time I'll go to the net. The majority of the time, I am a serve and volleyer. I had that in DC and I was fortunate.

Mark (Portland, ME): Do you think you'll focus more on singles or doubles in your pro career?

JOHN ISNER: For me now, I'm going to focus more on singles. With singles success comes doubles success. In college, I was a better doubles player than singles player. I wanted to come out and give it a good go on singles.

Becky (NJ): What have you been doing since your great run at the Legg Mason Classic?

JOHN ISNER: I took two days off, which was much needed. I needed to put the rackets up and get away. I played 11 matches in 12 days and it took a toll on my body. I needed to sit back and relax for a few days. I started training yesterday for these up coming tournaments.

Pashondre (Da 757): What are your views on older international players playing in college tennis?

JOHN ISNER: There's been a lot of complaints of international players coming in. I don't have any problems with it. If they're going to bring the game up, I don't have anything against it.

Huntsville, AL: It's very rare for a Four year college player to make it on the pro tour. Are there any other college players that recently graduated that are on tour trying to make it?

JOHN ISNER: Yes, I think a good example is a player I just beat at Legg Mason - Benjamin Becker. He's doing unbelievably well. If you go four years in college, you can make it as a pro.

Clifton, Columbia, SC: I've got a very important non-tennis question for you. Are you a big college football fan? If so, what do you think about the big South Carolina vs. Georgia matchup on Sept. 8th?

JOHN ISNER: I'm a HUGE college football fan. I grew up in North Carolina, which was a big basketball area. I went to Georgia where college football is a religion. I plan on attending that game, but it's also the semifinals for the US Open, so if I'm not there, I'll be at the game.

__________________"What kind of shape am I in now? Well round is a shape." said Roddick with a laugh. "I had a very detailed retirement plan, and I feel like I've met every aspect of it: a lot of golf, a lot of carbs, a lot of fried food, and some booze, occasionally — I've been completely committed ... The results have shown."

GREG SHARKO: Good afternoon to everyone. Thank you for calling in for today's conference call with John Isner, who joins us from Tampa, Florida.
As many of you know, John reached his first ATP Final last week at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, where he won five consecutive matches in a third-set tiebreak before losing to Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-6. Along the way he defeated former top 10 Tim Henman in the first round, and No. 12 ranked Tommy Haas in the quarters. Afterwards John moved up from 416 to No. 193 in the ATP rankings. He also won the Lexington challenger two weeks ago and at the time was ranked 745.
In Washington John fired 144 aces during the week, the highest non-Grand Slam tournament total since the ATP began keeping serving statistics in 1991.
Next week John will play in his first ATP Masters Series tournament at the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, where he's been given a wildcard.
Prior to turning pro this summer, John helped the University of Georgia to an undefeated 32-0 season and the NCAA team title. He also reached the NCAA singles final and he was a four-time All-American and the school's all-time winningest players with 143 singles match wins.
We thank everyone for joining us this afternoon and we'll start with questions.

Q. You're 22. You've played a lot of college tennis. Some guys are out there on the tour at 18, 19. Why now?
JOHN ISNER: I think for me, I've really matured in college. College was obviously the right choice for me. I got a lot stronger in college. My game improved so much because I had such great coaching there for four years. I got really, really used to winning. I won a lot in college, which really helped the transition from college to a pro and eventually to the ATP, just helped the transition go real smoothly. I was real confident coming from college because I won so much and I knew, you know, going for four years prepared me the best as possible because, you know, I went there and I got stronger, my game just kept on getting better and better.

Q. How are you feeling looking forward to Cincinnati?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, I feel great. I hit today for the first time. I took two days off, which really isn't that long. Can't take any more time off than that because I have such a huge tournament coming up.
I was obviously a bit sore after I lost to Andy. After the whole tournament was over, I logged so many hours on court. But I feel fine. Hitting relatively lightly today. Going at it pretty hard tomorrow. Just working real hard down in Tampa right now. It's hot as -- really, really hot here. Just working hard. Going to Cincinnati on Friday, practice there for a few days, just get prepared for my first-round match.

Q. Can you talk about your professional goals now. The expectations are rising here by the day for you.
JOHN ISNER: For me, I always told myself, if I could ever make top 100 at any point in my career, that will be just a huge accomplishment. Tennis is such a tough sport to succeed in, make money in.
Right now I'm 90 some spots away from that. I have -- really all year, I have about 10 and a half months to pick up points. My ranking can't go down because I have nothing to defend.
For me now I'm trying to shoot for a lot higher than top 50 because I've set myself up nicely for that, given these past results.
You know, I try not to make that many goals for myself. But I think if I had to make a goal, you know, I would say top 50. To ever make top 50 would be huge, and hopefully I can do better, maybe top 25, so on. It was just originally top 100, but I've set myself up nicely so far to go even higher than that.

Q. A lot of the focus has been on where the American players are going to come from after James and Andy at Grand Slam tournaments. A lot of the focus has been on juniors, teenagers. You're from a different mold, going to college. What are your thoughts on young American stars and the different paths that they can take developmentally?
JOHN ISNER: You know, college, unless you're a superstar, beating guys in the top 100, top 50 at 17, 18, obviously not going to college would be the right choice. If you're not tearing it up that well, you need to go to college. For someone like me, I was pretty good as a junior. I never thought about turning pro out of high school. My game got so much better in college. It's only going to get better. You got great coaching, great players to practice against.
The spot I'm at now, I've taken a lot different route than many of my peers. A lot of my peers my age decided to forego college and turn professional right out of high school.
Yeah, obviously for me I'm a little bit older. I'm not 18, 19. I'm new to the Pro Tour, but I'm not 18 or 19. I'm 22. I think I'm more mature at this stage. Hopefully I can set up a different path for people to go through, which is four years of college. At least two years in college, I think. Like I've said, I've taken a different path than a lot of my peers have. I've only been out here for two months and I'm ranked just about the same as a lot of them, so.

Q. What was your highest ranking as a junior? What do you think would have happened if you had turned pro and not gone to college?
JOHN ISNER: Well, in juniors I think I was maybe in the 18s. Maybe I was ranked 8 or 9. I was a good junior, but nothing that spectacular. Obviously college was the right choice for me. If I would have not gone to college, to tell you the truth, there's a good chance I probably wouldn't be playing right now. I'd be out there -- I would have been out four years by now. You just really get burned out at that point. If I would have turned pro at 18, I would have lost a lot of matches. I wasn't that mature. Confidence would have gone really, really down. When you have no confidence, you're not going to have good results. That eventually leads to just probably hanging the racquets up.
To tell you the truth, if I turned pro out of high school, there's a good chance I probably wouldn't be playing tennis right now. I would have taken my licks out there in the early years.

Q. You say obviously winning was the big key. Did you go into these tournaments this summer, like the Legg Mason, thinking, I'm a winning tennis player, I can win here? Did you surprise yourself? Did you feel because of all the winning, you could win matches against players in the top 50?
JOHN ISNER: You know, I thought I could -- I mean, I knew I was capable of winning matches against guys in the top 100, top 50. To tell you the truth, I'm not going to lie, tell you otherwise, but I did surprise myself. I beat five guys all ranked very high. I beat them in such dramatic fashion. I never would have thought I could have done that. I went into the tournament confident that I could win one or two matches, put up a good show, make a little bit of a name for myself. I never would have thought I would have made such a big splash like I did.
After each match I won, I'm getting more and more confidence, kind of like a snowball effect. After each match I won, I'm looking at my next opponent, I'm like, Why can't I beat him? That's really what happened and what led to my success there.

Q. The impact of the Lexington tournament, you win five matches there, did that have a big impact on what you did in Washington?
JOHN ISNER: Yes. That was huge for me. Prior to that tournament, I had never made it past the Round of 16 of a challenger event. Once I made it that far, it was a new experience for me. My first quarterfinal in a challenger, my first semifinal in a challenger, my first final in a challenger. I did real well there. Obviously I haven't played that many pro tournaments. I was competing as an amateur these past couple summers, but not competing that seriously because I had another year of school to go back to.
Obviously winning a challenger, which is a step under an ATP, gave me a lot of confidence. I beat some guys in the top 200 there, top 250. Told myself, if I can beat guys in the top 250, what's to say I can't beat people in the top 100. I went into D.C. extremely confident, confident as ever, and that really helped me.

Q. Now you're playing in a Masters event. Before Washington, would you have gone in praying to win one match? What is your attitude now about competing in a tournament with top 55 guys in the world there?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, playing in this tournament, I never would have thought I'd be competing in this tournament so early, so soon. Obviously, you know, I want to thank the tournament director, Bruce, for giving me the opportunity to play here. There's not going to be one easy match in the whole draw.
To tell you the truth, if I can go there and win -- just even win one match would be huge. All the top players are here. But it was just like in D.C. I feel confident. I beat Tommy Haas, who is ranked -- I forget what he's ranked, but he's ranked pretty high. There's going to be guys I'm going to be playing against. Unless I draw Federer, Nadal, guys not at that level, I'm pretty confident right now that I can compete with those guys.

Q. What has the experience been like off the court since the D.C. tournament in terms of agents, endorsement deals?
JOHN ISNER: Since the D.C. tournament?

Q. Yes.
JOHN ISNER: I had an agent prior to D.C. I've been working with Sam Duvall from SFX. He actually showed a lot of interest in me after college, which is kind of rare. Go four years in college, you don't really get that much interest from agents such as that. I've been with Sam, working with SFX. He gave me some good opportunities early on in the summer. I've been able to capitalize on those thus far.
You know, after that D.C. tournament, I didn't have to worry about signing with an agent because I was already with Sam, feel really comfortable with him. I've had good results so far. Hopefully I can keep it going.

Q. Any potential endorsement deals come out of that D.C. tournament?
JOHN ISNER: None as of yet. We're probably negotiating. We'll see what happens.

Q. How old were you when you started playing tennis?
JOHN ISNER: I was about nine or ten.

Q. Did you have any particular tennis idols growing up, anyone you looked up to, pros out there?
JOHN ISNER: If I had to say one person, it would be Pete Sampras. Kind of the cliché answer. Growing up, I honestly didn't watch tennis at all. He was obviously the guy I followed the most, which wasn't that much. I didn't watch that much tennis. I was just always into especially football. I watched everything (indiscernible) pretty much.

Q. What got you into it?
JOHN ISNER: I picked it up at an early age, had some success, won some local tournaments, won some state tournaments, sectional tournaments. I thought I could go somewhere with tennis and I stuck with it.

Q. Do you think this country needs American stars to get the kids and communities playing the sport more, more interested in the sport?
JOHN ISNER: You know, I guess you could say that. Even so, there's so many kids playing tennis. Tennis is I think a really popular sport. But any time it would help to have a huge star, which I think we have in guys like Andy and James. If another guy were to come along, have success like they have, that would probably spark more interest in the game than there is now.

Q. From your perspective, you think the American sport is very healthy from a community perspective?
JOHN ISNER: Well, I think so, from a community perspective. USTA is huge. There's leagues all around the country. There's lots of junior tournaments. There's so many players playing tournaments. For instance, that Lexington challenger, there was a junior tournament going on at the same time during that. So many players competing. A lot of players. Eventually you're probably going to see somewhere across the country the next young prospects.

Q. What can you say about junior Wimbledon winner Donald Young, besides he's left-handed and is about a foot shorter than you? What do you think of him as a future American star?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I think he really has all the goods to make it big. He's real talented. He's real young. He's real raw, in my opinion. He's going to get a lot better. He's going to get a lot stronger. He has so much talent.
He's starting to just now follow that junior success up with success on the Pro Tour. Really I think the sky's the limit for him because he's so talented. A lot of people on his side. A lot of people think he can do well. He's going to get a lot of opportunities to prove himself. I think he will.

Q. Tell us about your serve. Clearly it's a huge weapon. Did you really have a span of like the five best serving days of your life or business as usual? What is it that makes your serve so effective besides your height?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I served well in that tournament. I'm not going to lie. I've served like that a bunch, but I did follow it up each day after. I don't know, I just felt real comfortable out there out in D.C. The surface helped me. It was a little bit of a slick surface. I felt like I was popping the serve real well. I've been working a lot on my strength and my legs. I actually have been working on my serve a little bit to make it a little bit better, getting down a little bit lower with my knee bend, getting my shoulder stronger.
I definitely don't think it's a fluke. I know I can serve like that on a consistent basis. I think I can do that. Hopefully I can just keep it going.

Q. Other than your height, technically, do you come with the hard flat one a lot, do you prefer the kicker?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I can hit my hard flat one. The hard flat one I usually -- unless it is an offensive return, blocking it back, I like to come in with the forehand. Really what helped me in D.C. was my second serve. I was consistently hitting my second serve between 120 and 127 miles an hour. I was placing my second serve real well. I was following it up with a volley, which is what I like to do.
I've had a lot of people tell me that my second serve is more dangerous than my first because it's coming in with more spin, not as fast, and it kicks higher. It eats a lot of players up.

Q. Do you feel more pressure now? You're not a secret any more. Do you feel pressure? What would it mean to you to play in the US Open if that comes to be?
JOHN ISNER: I think it's not going -- obviously my name's been heard a lot after D.C. There's probably a lot of scout reports on me. People know a lot about me which is going to be tougher.
As far as pressure goes, I really don't think so. Still, even still, I'm in this tournament in Cincinnati, nothing much is expected of me. I'm probably the lowest-ranked guy competing in this tournament. There's no pressure. If I go out there and lose first round, nobody is going to say, Wow, what happened? I feel like I can only help myself in Cincinnati. Losing there is nothing to be ashamed of. As far as that goes, no pressure. I think it's going to be a little tougher because people are talking about me now, people know a little bit more about me and they're going to use what they know about me to their advantage when they play against me. It's a matter of me adjusting and be able to overcome that.
As far as the US Open goes, yes, it's always been a dream of mine. Never thought it would come true, to tell you the truth. If I do get a wildcard into there, that would be unbelievable. Go out there, play on that stage. I've been there, played juniors one time, played the doubles event one time. Such a spectacle there. The fans are into it. The place is packed 24/7. If I would get a chance to play there, even on an outer court, it's a great environment, something I could look back on, say I always competed in the US Open.

Q. Exactly how tall are you? 6'10"?
JOHN ISNER: Yes.

Q. How long have you been that height?
JOHN ISNER: I probably have been here for a year or two years. I haven't -- I grew a little bit since my freshman year of high school. I would say I'm a little bit shorter than 6'10".
GREG SHARKO: 6'9" or 6'10"? Website has 6'9".
JOHN ISNER: Go with 6'10". Make it a little bit bigger (laughter).

Q. Does that tie him for the tallest on tour? Karlovic?
GREG SHARKO: That's right, Ivo.

Q. He's tied with Ivo?
GREG SHARKO: That's right.

Q. What is your latest actual measurement?
JOHN ISNER: The last time I got measured was probably I was in school, a physical. I think like in January it was 6'9" and a quarter or and a half. I can't remember what it was exactly.
GREG SHARKO: We need to put him next to Ivo.

Q. I asked you about who you rooted for, your thoughts on community tennis. If you end up in the Open, move up higher, what are your thoughts on the possibility you could motivate young kids to play tennis?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, that would be -- if I was ever looked up upon like that, maybe as somewhat of like a role model, if I could ever inspire younger players to compete harder, actually work their hardest at tennis more than anything, that would be unbelievable. I've gotten some messages from younger players, kids in high school, actually after this tournament, and they've actually told me I have somewhat inspired them to play. I guess they liked watching me play out there. If I can just continue the success out on the Pro Tour, have my ranking keep climbing higher, my name will get more and more out there, if I could in any way inspire kids to choose tennis as their sport, something to go after, that would be awesome.

Q. What kind of messages did you get?
JOHN ISNER: Just stuff that, I watched you play, you're awesome, you're an inspiring player, hopefully I can make it like you have, stuff like that.

Q. How many aces last week?
GREG SHARKO: 144.

Q. Highest non-Grand Slam?
GREG SHARKO: That's right. Including 30 or more in three consecutive matches. The last player to do that was Mark Philippoussis at 2003 Wimbledon. Of course, that was in a best-of-five format.

Q. What is the highest you've ever hit, miles per hour?
JOHN ISNER: I think I hit a 142 in D.C. Prior to that, I can't remember the last time I've been clocked. Probably have to go with that, 142.
GREG SHARKO: I can check the IDS radar speeds.

Q. Who was the player that tied him at 6'9" and a half?
GREG SHARKO: Ivo Karlovic is 6'10" from Croatia.

Q. Are you playing doubles in Cincinnati?
JOHN ISNER: I don't know as of yet. If I play doubles, it would have to be as a wildcard. That's something I'll probably find out in the next couple days.

Q. You said you're coming from Tampa. Who are you working with down there?
JOHN ISNER: As far as players, for instance today I trained with Mardy Fish today, which was awesome. There's a lot of great coaches here, as well. There's always a coach out there on the court. I don't have a personal coach right now in Tampa.

Q. Are you part of that group with Blake, Mardy in Tampa?
JOHN ISNER: I would say I am. There's a bunch of good guys. There's James, Mardy, the Bryan brothers train here. After that there's guys like me and other players that are ranked around what I'm ranked.

Q. You all congregate there by happenstance, or did somebody invite you to go down there and play?
JOHN ISNER: Tampa has always been a good training ground for players. Mardy and James have been here for a while, probably the last four or five years. They've been here for a while. Great facilities here at Saddlebrook, great coaching, great players. It's kind of just one of those things, a lot of players are congregating here.
GREG SHARKO: Thanks, again, for joining us. John, thanks for your time this afternoon. Best of luck next week and the rest of the season.
JOHN ISNER: Thanks. Appreciate that. Thanks for having me.

You know, Stepanek will be probably very tired after 5 matches in Montreal so Mardy's chances are getting better. I don't know what to think about the other match because Ferrer hasn't any experiences against players like Isner.I suppose Ferrer won't find the rhythm at the baseline after series of aces.

MASON - The search is always on for the so-called future of American tennis, which is why it might be worth keeping an eye on youngsters John Isner and Sam Querrey.

Both will be in action tonight after receiving wild-cards into the main draw of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.

The No. 66-ranked Querrey might already be familiar to local tennis fans after last year's memorable debut in Mason. The 19-year-old took the first set from No. 2 Rafael Nadal before eventually losing in three sets.

"It was an awesome experience," Querrey said of that defeat. "It felt like a win to me."

Querrey comes in this year with a hot hand after making the semifinals in Indianapolis two weeks ago preceded by a six-match losing streak.

"It wasn't fun," Querrey said of his skid. "But it definitely motivated me to work harder. It was almost a good thing it happened."

The 6-foot-9 Isner isn't very accustomed to defeat. After compiling a 32-0 record and leading the University of Georgia to this year's NCAA team title, the 22-year-old rode his 142-mph serve all the way to the finals in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago.

In just his second ATP Tour event, Isner won five straight three-set matches to climb to No. 193 in the world.

Said Isner: "After each match I won, I'm looking at my next opponent like, why can't I beat him?"

While at roughly the same point in their careers, the two Americans traveled very different roads to get there. Isner was a four-time All-American at Georgia, but Querrey took the more traditional route and turned pro at 18.

Isner's doubles partner this week, No. 78-ranked Amer Delic, is another young American who honed his game at the collegiate level. The 25-year-old - who plays No. 11-seed Ivan Ljubicic today - was the 2003 NCAA singles champ while playing at the University of Illinois.

"Physically, maybe I was ready, but mentally I wasn't," Delic said of waiting to go pro. "If professional tennis was just about hitting tennis balls, a lot more guys would skip college."

But Querrey said he doesn't regret his choice.

"At first it was a little difficult, but I think I made the right decision," Querrey said.

Both Isner and Querrey will be in action tonight on Center Court. Isner takes on 16th-seeded David Ferrer at 7 p.m., with Querrey to follow against Marc Gicquel of France.

"Nothing much is expected of me," Isner said of his chances this week. "I feel like I can only help myself."